This original acrylic painting was a retake of an oil pastel that was done from a live model. In this version, I changed the design a bit to be more clean and polished, which is easier to do with acrylic paint than oil pastels. The model session was in the winter, so there was a space heater next to her on the platform. I did this painting over another abstract painting that I had decided not to finish, so I had to add a lot of paint textures to help hide the rigid geometric shapes that were underneath.

Bruce Bodden

I was a Fine Arts Major at UW-Oshkosh, where I had a double emphasis: Drawing and Applied Design. The drawings that I did were mostly charcoals or oil pastels. Applied or Functional Design was building wooden furniture. I enjoyed Ceramics as well. My pots and vases that I threw on the wheel looked good and were nicely glazed, but they were very fat at the bottom...the professor said that the cats couldn't tip them over. I wanted to major in something that I could do after school anyway, and you don't need much equipment for drawing.

After college I worked in the furniture restoration field, so I still had access to a woodworking shop. I currently work in an antique store in the restoration department, and so I still have access to more tools than I can have at home.

I like to do oil pastels, acrylic paintings, furniture and marquetry. And lately, all those things are starting to combine together in the same piece. Since I have the skills to do woodworking, I prefer to make all of my frames for my work, sometimes I even enjoy making frames more than the artwork itself.

I did art shows, mostly in Wisconsin, for nine years, but stopped when I started my current job. However, I did an art show this summer, and plan on doing more in future years. I never stopped making my art, as it is my main recreation outside of work.